Lafayette police officers appealing dismissal of their lawsuit

Plaintiffs allege corruption

LAFAYETTE — Fifteen current and former police officers have filed papers to appeal a federal judge’s dismissal last month of their lawsuit alleging the Lafayette Police Department, its chief and other city officials are corrupt.

The officers’ attorneys filed for a review by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sunday, one month after U.S. District Judge Richard Haik dismissed every claim the officers had.

The suit, whose plaintiffs include former Lafayette drug task force member Kane Marceaux, was filed in 2012 against Chief James Craft, Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel and chief administrator Dee Stanley, and eight rank-and-file members of the Lafayette Police Department.

Haik dismissed the suit Aug. 7.

The 5th Circuit has not indicated whether it will take up the appeal. Craft on Tuesday did not return a message seeking comment.

After Haik dismissed the case in August, Craft distributed a prepared statement: “After a meticulous review of each and every claim, a federal judge determined this lawsuit to be without merit and dismissed it.

“Over the last two years of court proceedings involving the baseless and unfounded allegations in this lawsuit, we never lost faith in the fact that our actions were proper and legal,” Craft said. “It is truly unfortunate that the department and our community have been distracted by these distortions of fact.”